HIGH SPEED INTERNET PROVIDERS for:

Fast internet is essential for every cord cutter that wants to have a quality streaming experience. Popular streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu work best on high speed – or broadband – Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as cable or fiber.

Local Residential ISP Providers

This coverage data set is created by crunching millions of rows of data coming from the NTIA and FCC. Here are the best-of-the-best Internet Service Providers (ISPs) available in the area today.

Satellite

HughesNet has widespread Satellite coverage in Kane, IL. Plans start at $40+ per month depending on bundling options, available specials and speed guarantees.

Satellite

Comparing Broadband Data Nationwide

Over 92% of the United States has wired residential broadband coverage, and even more has access to satellite. The average download speed nationwide is 45 Mbps, with fiber customers seeing by far the fastest speeds. However, unfortunately only about 29% of the US has access to fiber.

Technology

Average Download Speed

Average Upload Speed

Description

Satellite slowest

25 Mbps

3 Mbps

It is widely available, but offers slower speeds due to a far-traveling signal.

DSL low-range

89 Mbps

6 Mbps

Provides internet service via phone cables and is up to ten times faster than dial-up service.

Cable high-range

89 Mbps

6 Mbps

Provides internet speeds faster than DSL through the same cables used for cable TV.

Fiber fastest

761 Mbps

741 Mbps

Fiber relies on glass strands to relay digital code and is much faster than both DSL and cable.

Download speed is by far the most important metric (besides price) for cord cutters that plan to stream their TV. Focus on a provider with the best average download speed, and you shouldn’t have any issues with buffering videos or slow internet. If you are the only one in your home, and will only stream shows occasionally, then any internet speed other than dial-up will be fine. However, if you have kids streaming alongside the parents, you will need at least 20 Mbps for a decent quality streaming experience. These types of speeds are only available with broadband ISPs like Cable, DSL or Fiber.

Streaming Internet Requirements

Most streaming services require fast internet and a good streaming device. Many services will work fine on DSL connections, but will occasionally be choppy. You will most likely not be able to get uninterrupted HD-quality TV on DSL or Satellite. Cable and Fiber are by far your best options if your home plans on utilizing streaming services regularly.

Here are the types of things you can do at certain ISP download speeds:

5 Mpbs: Browsing the internet; ideal for 1 person

10 Mpbs: HD video streaming or gaming; ideal for 1-2 people

20 Mpbs: Frequent gaming or Ultra HD streaming; ideal for 2-4 people

40+ Mpbs: Simultaneous HD streaming and gaming; ideal for a family (4+ people)

Beware of Bandwidth Limits!

Hidden in some high speed internet contracts are bandwidth caps that can easily be breached if your household streams a lot of content. It is definitely important to look into this before choosing an ISP for your streaming needs. Most of the time once you go over your allotted bandwidth amount, you will be charged a fee for any overages.

As for a real world example: My household of 5 (3 kids & 2 adults) will usually go through about 450GB of internet traffic a month.